The question remains that could the case of missing Kara Kopetsky have a connection to that of Kelsey Smith? Could Edwin R. Hall, the individual charged in the murder of Kelsey Smith have any connection to the disappearance of Kara Kopetsky? As police found a body 6 miles from where Kara Kopetsky lived, her parents feared for the worse. As it turned out, the body found was that of Kelsey Smith. Is it a coincidence that Kelsey’s body was found so close to where Kara lived. One does wonder whether there is a connection.

Jim and Rhonda Beckford, like thousands of others across Kansas City, watched with trepidation Wednesday as news unfolded about a body found just six miles from their Belton home.

Theirs, though, was a special brand of fear. Their 17-year-old daughter, Kara Kopetsky, has been missing since May 4. So while the search for Kelsey Smith took place, the Beckfords’ fears mounted.

Tarnished relief came after about an hour, when a Belton police sergeant arrived to tell them it wasn’t Kara Kopetsky. (Kansas City.com)

When investigators in the Smith case announced Wednesday that a body had been found in Longview Lake Park, Kopetsky’s parents, Jim and Rhonda Beckford, waited nervously until Spears told them the body was that of Smith, and not Kara’s.

”Sitting here, a month later, and then you see somebody that has the same physical characteristics and not less than 30 minutes apart in distance wise and you start associating things,” said Jim Beckford, Kara’s stepfather. ”We didn’t have the resources and the video tape, and we didn’t have proof that Kara was abducted.”

Beckford also noted that his stepdaughter disappeared the same day a tornado struck Greensburg, Kan. The story dominated media coverage in the area.

Spears said most media didn’t give Kopetsky’s disappearance the attention he thought it warranted. (Ark City.net)

Kelsey Smith has been missing since June 2, 2007. Police are saying that she has been the victim of an abduction.

Description:

Kelsey is 18 years old

5 feet 6 inches tall

weighs about 120 lbs

brown hair

brown eyes

When she was last seen, Kelsey was wearing a pink tank top, black cotton shorts, and tennis shoes.

She was driving an ’87 gray Buick Regal with a Nebraska temp plate (“30 Day 458″) on the front. This car was recovered at Oak Park Mall – its original plate read WOZ 965.

Family Says Car Found But ATM Card, Cell Phone Missing

Family members said they later found her car across the street in front of Macy’s. Her purse and keys were inside the car, but her ATM card and cell phone were missing. Authorities said surveillance video from the Macy’s parking lot was not clear enough to identify the person who drove her car.

Officials said Smith’s ATM card and cell phone have not been used since the kidnapping. (KMBC-TV)

Cops in Overland Park, Kan. say 18-year-old Kelsey Ann Smith was abducted from the parking lot of a Target store. Police say a man pushed her into her car at around 7:09 p.m. Kelsey was supposed to meet her boyfriend at home to go to a graduation party, but when she didn’t show up. (AMW)

Update I: Volunteers Search for Missing Teen, Kelsey Smith

Family and friends gathered again Tuesday morning in the Target parking lot near 97th & Quivira where missing teen, Kelsey Smith, was last seen. Volunteers canvassed area parks and pass out updated fliers. (FOX 4 – KS)

Update II: Video shows Kan. teen forced into car

“As she opened the driver’s side door, the individual sprinted up behind her and pushed her into the car,” Police Capt. Tom Fredrickson said.

Her car was found two hours later in the parking lot of a mall across the street.

Police were working to enhance the quality of that video, which has not been released because it is so poor, Detective Matthew Bregel said. (Houston Chronicle)

UPDATE IV (7:55 CT): This just in … Tim Miller and TES Joining the Search for Kelsey Smith

I just got off the phone with Tim Miller and he an 10+ TES members will be traveling to Kansas to help search for Kelsey Miller. They will be bringing boats and the drone airplane capable of taking aerial footage. TES has been asked by the search director and law enforcement to help aid in the search for the missing Kelsey Smith. We have also learned that the family of Jodi Sanderholm is also going to help search. (developing)

Kelsey Smith’s family spoke on Wednesday evening, following the discovery of her body earlier in the day. Police confirmed Smith’s body was found near a shallow creek bed near Longview Lake in south Kansas City in a heavily wooded area. Members of the Hillcrest Covenant Church plan to hold a vigil tonight at 7. (Fox-KS)